Door operating mechanism



Dec. 3, 1935. H, Q, HOLLMANN 2,022,914

DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM Filed March '7, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet l HUBER]n 0. HLL/YH/VN Dec. 3, 1935.

H. Q. HOLLMANN 2,022,914

DOOR OPERATING MECHANI SM Filed March '7; 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patentedv Dec. 3, 1935 UNITED STATES DOOR OPERATING MEC'HANISM Hubert Q. Hollmann, Euclid, Ohio, assignor to Cleveland Engineering Corporation, Euclid, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application March 7, 1934, Serial No. 714,475

3 Claims.

My invention relates to automatic door-operating mechanism and more particularly to mechanism of this nature adapted to be used for different types of doors, such as hinged doors, sliding doors or overhead doors, and aims to provide certain new and useful improvements in connection with a device of this character.

It is a well appreciated fact that it has been customary to utilize operating elements for closures which would permit of a person effecting an opening or closing operation of this element at a point relatively remote from the same. A device of this character is particularly adapted for use in connection with garage doors, gates, etc. and provides a means whereby the same may be opened or closed without alighting from a vehicle in which the operator might be riding.

These devices have oifered substantial objections in that the parts have been more or less cumbersome and complicated, so that aside from the fact that the friction rendered the same somewhat difficult to operate, the liability of the entire device becoming inoperative has always existed.

Having this in mind, I have constructed a device for operating doors or other forms of clo- Sures and at a point relatively remote from the same, whereby it will not be incumbent upon an operator to exert any force to eiect an operation of the closure.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a device of the character stated in which the working parts will be reduced to a minimum, thus avoiding complications, and diiculty incident to complication, aside from the fact that the expense of the primary installation will be reduced to an extremely small ligure..

A further object of my invention is to provide a safe and reliable device of the character stated which can readily be installed above or at the side of the door, either angularly related thereto or parallel therewith and which includes a lead screw directly coupled with and driven by a reversible motor, which screw, when rotated by the motor reciprocates a travelling unit or head adapted to be connected to the doors to be operated upon, whereby the travelling head is guided upon a cylindrical slotted tube enclosing the lead screw.

With these and further objects and advantages in View, the nature, characteristic features and scope of the invention will more readily be understood from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein Fig. 1 is a plan view of a door-operating mechanism according to my present invention installed in a garage with swinging doors; a fragment of the garage being illustrated in horizontal section. Fig. 2 is a wiring diagram indicating the hook-up of the starting switches for the mechanism;

Fig. 3 is a plan View of a door-operating mechanism installed in a garage with sliding doors;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan view of my door- 5 operating mechanism;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view o-n line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view through one end of the guide member showing the pivotal support of the lead screw;

Figs. 7 and 8 are end views of the mechanism shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view on line 9-9 of Fig. 4; 15 Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the trip lever for one of the operating members and Fig. 1l is a perspective view of one of the brackets connecting the operating links of the mechanism with the doors.

In the embodiment chosen for purposes of i1- lustration in the drawings my invention has been shown in association with closures of both swinging and sliding doors but it will readily be appreciated that the same might be utilized to advantage in connection with any other desired type of closure.

In these drawings A represents a door-operating unit embodying two oppositely arranged angle irons 2, secured at their ends in spaced parallel relationship to each other by means of angle irons 3 and 4 respectively, which latter are preferably spot-welded to angle irons 2. The thus formed frame structure or the unit which can readily be secured to the ceiling of a garage or other building by bolts extended through openings G in angle irons 3 and 4 supports a lead screw 1 suspended therefrom in parallel relation with respect thereto on two brackets 8, which are welded to the lower faces of angle irons 2 and support the opposite ends of said screw. Thus the vertical walls l of brackets 8 and 9 embody ilanged openings l l, the flanges l2 of which rotatably support ball bearings I4 on lead screw l which is preferably provided with a 29 degrees acme power-thread and enclosed in a tubular guide member i E embodying a straight slot It arranged in its top portion. The edges il of this member are reinforced by doubling back its wall as at lil, and the opposite ends of said member I5 are sleeved upon and welded to the flanges I2 of the brackets 8 to obtain a rigid and sturdy support for a travelling head I Q sleeved upon said member and threadedly connected with the lead screw l. This travelling `head embodies an internal threaded sleeve 20 and an external sleeve 2i concentrically aligned with said first sleeve and rigidly connected therewith by means of a vertical rib portion 23 extending from sleeve 20 through slot I6 of mem- 60 ber I to sleeve 2 l. This rib portion contacts at opposite sides with the reinforced edges Il of slot l@ and thus prevents rotation of the travelling head i9 when the screwl is rotated, and the sleeve El, which snugly'engages the guide member l5, prohibits tilting and binding of the sleeve Ii! on lead screw l. Consequently the travelling head I9 transmits to screw l merely longitudinal and torsional stresses, whereas all other stresses on said head i9 are transmitted to the guide member I5.

The lead screw l is rotated by reversible clutch motor 22, the shaft of which is axially aligned with screw l and coupled therewith by means of a coupling member 23. This motor is suspended from angle irons 2 by brackets 24 and controlled by a plurality of switches 25, 26 mounted in a switch box 21 arranged above motor 22. Switches 25 and 25, threeand fourway switches respectively, are actuated by a rounded cam member 23, secured to ear portions 25, on sleeve 2l which member 28 eifects reciprocation of a shiitably mounted rod 32 by means of pivctally supported operating mernbers 35, 5 l. This rod 32, which is guided in bearings 33, is at its left end bifurcated and coupled with the switching levers 35', 3| of the switches 25, 25 and carries collars 34 co-operating with short angularly offset lever arms 35 on operating members 35, 3 l. These operating members each embody a rather lengthy pivotally mounted trip lever 35 provided at its lower rounded end with a cylindrical body 3l which engages the cam member 28. This trip lever is rigidly connected to the short angularly offset arm 35 which latter cooperates with the collars 34 on rod 32. Consequently tripping or one or the other of levers 35 shifts rod 32 longitudinally in one or the other direction and actuates switches 25 and 25. Levers 35 and 35 are preferably supported in a yoke-like bracket 3? which is welded to anglegirons 2.

The operation of the door opener can best be explained by means of the diagrams shown in Fig. 1 and 2. The walls of the garage are indicated by the numerals 35, the doors by 39 and the connecting links from the arms 40 to the doors by 4l. In a wiring diagram of Fig. 2, the switch box 2l is connected by four wires 42 with the reversible clutch motor 22 and a fifth wire 43 connects the line 44 directly with said motor. A second line wire 45 is led over a safety braker 45 to a three-way control switch 41, which switch is preferably secured in front of the garage in a place easily accessible to an automobile driver from his seat. The three-way control switch 41 is connected by wires 48, 49 with a four-way switch Evil which is preferably located in the house,

. and switch 5D is connected by two wires 5I and 52 with the three-way switch 25 which in turn is coupled with four-way switch 26 in control switch box 2l. When the driver approaches the garage, he rst operates the switch 4l which opens the doors 39 to the position indicated by the dotted lines, and when leaving the garage the driver may close the doors by operating the switch 41 or the switch 50 in the house. Switch 41 may of course be provided with safety locks if desired.

The door-operating mechanism may also be used for garages having sliding doors, and is then preferably arranged parallel to the doors, as

shown in Fig. 3, in which the garage is provided with two sliding doors. In this case I prefer to use an operating mechanism embodying a subdivided lead screw having a left-hand and a right-hand thread and provided with two travelling heads 5 52 and 53 which travel in opposite directions. Otherwise the structure Vis identical with that previously described.

The brackets 54 connecting the links 4I with the garage door preferably each consists of a. base member 56 and a yoke-shaped member 55 swiveled to said base member to permit of axial rotation ofmember 55 and suspension of the links connected thereto without danger of tearing the brackets from the door, when the link should be disconnected from the travelling head.

Having thus described my invention, what I` claim is:

1. A door-operating unit for opening and closing a door comprising a frame, a screw member rotatably supported by said frame, a tubular member having its top portion longitudinally slotted enclosing said screw member, said tubular member being rigidly connected to said frame,

and an integral travelling head connected to the 215A door to be operated, said heads having an inner sleeve threadedly connected with said screw member and an outer sleeve slidably sleeved upon said tubular member, said inner and outer sleeve being concentrically related and connected by a web portion extended through the slotted por-vl tion of said tubular member. Y

2. A door-operating unit for opening and closing a door comprising a frame, a screw member rotatably suspended from said frame, a guide member enclosing said screw member, said guide member having its top portion longitudinally slotted and its opposite ends non-rotatably attached to said frame, and an integral travelling u head connected to the door to be opened or closed, 0' I ably engaged with said guide member for reciprocatory movement thereon, when said screw member is rotated, said two members being rigidly connected With each other by a web portion extended through said slotted top portion of said guide member. Y

3. A door operating unit for opening and closing a door comprising an elongated frame, a rotary screw member suspended from said frame, a cylindrical guide member enclosing said screw member and rigidly and non-rotatably connected 55 with said frame in axial alignment and coextensive with said screw member having a longitudinal slot in its top wall, and an integral reciprocatory travelling head connected to the door to be opened and closed, said head including concentrically arranged sleeve portions connected by a web portion with each other, one of said portions being threadedly engaged with said screw member for reciprocatory movement When said last member is rotated, and the other one-of said 

